Watercooler Stories

Prison term ordered for 574-pound man

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- A Waterloo, Iowa, man who argued his 574 pounds made him too heavy to go to prison was sentenced to 14 years on federal drug charges.

Michael Washington, 32, pleaded guilty in January to making his home available in October 2001 to store crack cocaine shipped through the U.S. mail from California. He also admitted selling the drug since 1996, Radio Iowa reported.

Washington had asked for home confinement, arguing he was too heavy and his health was too poor to be adequately cared for by prison officials.

However, a Cedar Rapids, Iowa, federal judge ruled the prison system will be able to address any of Washington's needs and sentenced him Thursday to 14 years in prison.

Restaurant neighbors most accident prone

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- Drivers who live within 1 mile of a restaurant are 30 percent more likely to have a car accident than one who lives further away, an analysis said Wednesday.

Churches are the least risky neighbor of all. People who live within 1 mile of a church are 10 percent less likely to have an accident resulting in a property damage claim than if they lived one more than one mile from the church, the study by San Francisco-based Quality Planning Corp. said.

The company examined more than 15 million policyholders and 2 million claims, mapping the proximity of vehicle-owners' addresses to various types of businesses.

As far as higher crash likelihoods, following restaurants were grocery stores, schools, banks and car dealers.

On the safer side, after churches came a racetrack or amusement park, hotels, national parks and local parks.

The company couldn't explain why accident claim frequency was higher and lower in the various areas, but noted insurance companies already use zip codes to determine rates.

Robbers no match for patrons at bar

SAN DIEGO, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- A San Diego bar was saved from would be robbers when patrons apprehended the armed suspects and called police.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reports police had to calm down patrons at the Blarney Stone Pub when they arrived.

San Diego police Sgt. Bob Dare said they took exception to the three men who interrupted their drinking by holding up the bar and mobbed the robbers.

The owner of the bar took the lone gun the three carried and police were called.

No one was injured and the suspects are in custody.

Safecracker to tackle 2 on old U.S. sub

HACKENSACK, N.J., Dec. 8 (UPI) -- A professional New Jersey safecracker has been commissioned to open two safes locked aboard a World War II submarine for more than 60 years.

Officials at the New Jersey Naval Museum in Hackensack said they sought the help of 43-year-old Jeff Sitar because he "is the Houdini of safes," the Newark Star-Ledger reported.

The USS Ling 297, a Balao class submarine, was launched in 1943 and decommissioned in 1972. But the two 20-by-20-inch safes, one each in the state rooms of the executive officer and the captain have remained sealed, despite attempts by various other safecrackers.

Sitar uses a method called "manipulation," relying on his fingers, ears and wits, and rarely has to resort to drilling or blasting, the newspaper said.

He charges between $150 and $1,000 a job, depending on whether it's a home safe or a bank vault. A date has not yet been set, but museum officials are keen to see what's inside what they call "60-year-old time capsules."

Sitar is bonded and on file with the FBI and the Safe and Vault Technical Association, and says he has never been on the wrong side of the law.